A User Friendly Church

The phrase user friendly is a term that is often connected to a computer program. It means that the operation of the program is easy to understand and that steps have been taken to make the operation of the program easy to use. Also many steps have been adjusted or taken so that the operator does not have to worry about what to do next or which direction they should go in. User friendly in short is something that is easy to perform and operate in.

Jesus when speaking of people coming to Him said, “Come unto me…my burden is light and my yoke easy.” Jesus wanted people to know it was easy to get to Him. Jesus was User Friendly.

My daughter, Rachel once sent me two lists concerning people connecting to a church. As I read through the list it was simple to see that if the people of a church want to, their assembly can be an easy place for someone to get to Jesus. But on the other hand if the members of the church are not careful their place of worship could become harder to break into than Fort Knox. It is clear that a church needs to become user friendly. Become a place where people can easily get to Jesus, easily find a place they can call home, easily connect to the people that call the church their family.

This is not something that is program to install. It is not something that we can pawn off on a certain group in the church to take care of. Yes, ministries and functions of the church must operate in a user friendly way but just as important is the action and mind-set of the congregation. Yes it is easy to look across the aisle and say someone needs to do something but the question needs to be what am I doing personally to make our church easier to connect to? What am I doing to help create a user friendly church?

The scripture tells us the early church had great unity of spirit with all things in common. They operated their lives such that they personally touched the lives of others on a regular basis. It was their life-style. “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common.” Acts 2:42-44 NKJV

As you turn through the pages of the book of Acts, the recorded actions of the church, you can watch them become and act like a user friendly church or become a church that made getting to Jesus an easy task.

I want to share with you a list I have called 10 ways to draw me to your church. These 10 points are very visible in the actions of the early church. See how you are doing with them personally. How user friendly are you as part of the church being.

Pursue them: Being pursued by a church can be either helpful or scary. The helpful form is for a church to be responsive and make a genuine effort to connect. The scary form of pursuit is when it turns into stalking in the church. We can’t be guilty of force feeding salvation.

Take them out to eat: This is very New Testament Church. Acts tells of this deed several times. An excellent idea if I ever heard one.  

Ask about their story, show genuine interest: Ask them about their life especially about their church background and life. Give them a comfortable chance to tell their story and then be interested.  

Find out how people are really doing and pray for them: “I’m good” is the most frequent lie out of people’s mouths especially on Sundays. Search your heart do you really care how someone is really doing?  

Show interest in their hobbies: Knowing how someone chooses to spend their free time can be immensely useful. People tend to exercise skills and gifts in hobbies they may not otherwise get to use. Those skills can likely also benefit the church.  

Ask them to become involved then see that they do: Many today have been involved in volunteering since they were young. It is taught and pushed in schools and media today. Yet, most churches make it hard for someone to become involved.  

Seek their input: After you have gotten them to attend a few services take them out for lunch and ask them what they think about your church and your evangelism efforts, ask them for input so you are better and friendlier. No don’t take them don’t the road about what all is wrong in the church and then turn it into a gossip session.

Invite them to hang out with your friends: One of the many buzzwords in churches today is relationship. One of the lacking things in churches today is relationship

Tell your story how God has and is transforming your life: As much as people want to share their life they also want to hear about yours. Knowing how God has transformed your life gives hope and faith about how God can transform theirs.  

When they are sick check on them: Most people are not going to take you up on the offer of assistance if they are sick. Still a call just to make sure they are alive and see if they need something says much.  

All these together boil down to one simple message, We Care, We Really Do Care. Look at your life today. Look at your daily actions, how user friendly are you coming across?

The lives of people around our city are very busy but they are still longing for a spiritual change and will make time for someone who truly cares about what is going on in their life.  People want to feel they are important enough to you that you will value their impute and friendship.

All these together will make us personally more user friendly and thus create a user friendly church. Church, people need to feel we are real and we are concerned. They also need to find it easy to get to God through this church. We have to be a User Friendly Church.

Thanks for all you did yesterday to be this kind of church. Don’t check up though; make sure being a user friendly church is our nature.